(John 13:34 NIV ‘84) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Well… how’s it going this week? How has your love been? Have you loved as Christ has loved you? I will be the first to admit that I have failed miserably. I have not loved my wife as Christ has loved me, I have not loved my son as Christ has loved me, I have not loved my neighbor as Christ has loved me, and if that were not enough I have not loved Christ as Christ has loved me. I have failed to love as Christ would want me and the truth is all of us fail to love as Christ commands because of sin.

But Christ’s love never fails! He never stops loving you and me because Christ’s love is not based on “what side of the bed he wakes up on,” it is not based on how he “feels” that day, it is not based on what “you have done for him lately.” But Christ’s love is based on the cross and no one can take that love from you! Christ’s love is based on your baptism as He made you His child, cleansed you from all your sins, and promised to never leave you. Christ’s love is based on Him, the cross, and the empty tomb which shows the greatest acts of love this world has ever seen and that love never fails!

And since Jesus never failed, since the cross never fails, since the tomb is always empty – Christ’s forgiveness never fails! You and I are forgiven for all the times we have failed to love as Christ has loved us! And out of thanks for the love He has shown us, out of thanks for the forgiveness He has given us, and out of the thanks for the eternal life He has won for us we daily strive to show others that same type of self – sacrificing love!